Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/04/2017 -- Although regional players are many and currently occupy over a quarter of the global volume share for wood activated carbon, this market is primarily consolidated. The top three players in 2015 – Calgon Carbon Corporation, Cabot Corporation, and Ingevity Corporation – collectively held a share of 46.8% of the market's total value at the time.

Owing to this high concentration of market shares held by a few prominent players, the competitive intensity is very high between them. Their rivalry is also likely to affect the growing number of small and medium scale companies coming up in countries such as China.

According to a new research report released by Transparency Market Research, the overall threat of new entrants in the global market for wood activated carbon is expected to remain medium to high over the coming years. Product differentiation is low and the demand for wood activated carbon is escalating quickly, thus allowing a positive room for new entrants to procure distribution contracts in.

According to a new research report released by Transparency Market Research, the overall threat of new entrants in the global market for wood activated carbon is expected to remain medium to high over the coming years. Product differentiation is low and the demand for wood activated carbon is escalating quickly, thus allowing a positive room for new entrants to procure distribution contracts in.

Armed with a CAGR of 9.2% in revenue within a forecast period from 2016 to 2024, the global market for wood activated carbon is expected to generate US$224.7 mn by 2016, which is expected to reach US$456.0 mn by the end of 2024.

The strong ability of wood activated carbon to separate particulate matter, lead, and other harmful elements from both liquids and gases makes it exceptionally useful in the removal of impurities from substances. This application segment is expected to generate US$141.8 bn for wood activated carbon manufacturers by the end of 2024.

By the end of 2024, Asia Pacific is expected to generate US$197.18 mn in revenue from the consumption of wood activated carbon. This region is going very big on the use of wood activated carbon for removal of impurities and decolorization. At the same time, this region is also showing a very high demand for wood activated carbon for the purpose of gas absorption. The share in volume used up by Asia Pacific is expected to increase quite a bit over the coming years.

North America holds the second place in terms of demand for wood activated carbon. The demand by this region is expected to increase significantly over the coming years due to a growing use of impurity removal methods that are effective and not harmful to the environment. This region is focusing heavily on the implementation of gas absorption techniques to reduce the emission of vehicles.

"Over 70% of the mercury emissions globally come from power plants, with coal-fired and thermal power plants being the key culprits. Almost all governments are now cracking down on the emission of mercury and other harmful particles by power plants and the manufacturing industry. This increasing pressure to maintain cleaner air quality has pushed wood activated carbon into favor with most industries," states a TMR analyst.

Both the U.S. and China are two major countries responsible mercury emissions. Both nations have agreed to adhere to strict emission norms and significantly reduce mercury levels in the atmosphere by 2020. This puts both countries at the top of the charts for wood activated carbon consumption.

Saw Dust Prices Surge Affects Wood Activated Carbon Production

The key raw materials for producing wood activated carbon include a slew of pre-treatment chemicals, wood flour, wood pellets, and saw dust. Of these, saw dust, wood pellets, and wood flour are usually derived as byproducts of wood processing.

The complication lies in the demand for these raw materials being equally high in other industries such as fuel generation and the manufacturing of synthetic resins and wood pulp. With a large number of companies holding a high demand for saw dust and other wood processing byproducts, the dependency of wood activated carbon manufacturers on saw dust becomes increasingly precarious, hindering this market's growth rate.

"This shortage of raw materials can be mitigated by developments on other raw materials. For instance, there are several studies pointing towards the feasibility of other forms of activated carbon and even plasma processed carbon," adds the analyst.